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Boys Soccer: Marmion advances to state with OT win over Lakes
| Corey R. Minkanic~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: November 1, 2011 10:03PM
Mick Maley got the victory ride of his life.
Maley curved a beautiful ball into the far post with two minutes elapsed in overtime that propelled the Cadets to the 2-1 Class 2A supersectional victory over Lakes Tuesday night at DeKalb.
After being engulfed by his own teammates, Maley was jumped on by his coach, Kevin O’Conner, who hoisted him aloft and carried him toward the frenzied Marmion student crowd that swelled behind the closed off fence.
It marked a fitting collaboration as Maley scored both goals, twice assisted by senior midfielder Mike Frasca.
The victory marked the first super sectional crown in school history.
“This is a shining moment in the history of the program,” an emotional O’Connor said to the team. The Cadets advance to the second state semifinal against Chatham Glenwood, a 3-1 winner over Springfield, at Lincoln North on Friday.
Both teams had their own recent heartbreaks to call on. Marmion had five starters that lost a supersectional game to Freeport two years ago. For the second consecutive year, Lakes saw its downstate dreams collapse in a supersectional.
“It hurts,” Lakes coach Kevin Kullby said.
Marmion (19-6-3) had many heroes.
Star keeper Brad White made a spectacular save with just seven minutes in regulation on a penalty kick off against Lakes‘ Kyle Neeve.
“I’ve been very fortunate on penalty kicks in regulation this year,” he said. “I’ve saved every once, except once when they scored on the rebound.
“I could tell by his angle and the speed of the ball, he was going to his left and I just moved right,” White said. “Once you make that move, the save is the easiest thing.”
“Their keeper made a great save there,“ Kullby said. “[Neeve] had a big penalty kick in regulation earlier in the year, and he’s been one of our best players,“ he said.
Lakes (15-10-1) took the 1-0 lead in the closing minute of the first half on an unorthodox score when a Marmion player inadvertently kicked the ball in his own goal off a Zach Reimer free kick.
Marmion had the advantage of the ferocious wind in the second half and overtime and they took advantage. The Cadets dominated possession time in the second half. They finally broke through in the 78th minute when Frasca broke by two Lakes‘ defenders and perfectly fed Maley in stride, who blasted the ball into the far right corner for the tie.
White‘s save preserved the tie. Marmion had several scintillating scoring opportunities. “It’s overtime and I knew that anything could happen,” Maley said.
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